[Current Affairs] January 06, 2021 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for Entry Test Preparation

2. Saudi Arabia and allies restore ties with Qatar

What’s going on? Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt are taking baby steps towards restoring ties with Qatar. A US-backed deal is helping end a dispute that erupted in 2017. On Monday, Saudi Arabia opened its airspace, plus land and sea borders, to Qatar. Qatar will be allowed to fly planes over Saudi Arabia in exchange for Qatar Airways dropping a bunch of legal challenges against Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries that joined the airspace blockade. Qatar Airways wanted $5 billion in compensation for the airspace bans.

The details: On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt, agreed to fully restore diplomatic ties with Qatar. In 2017, these four countries accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and getting cozy with Iran (P.S. Iran is Saudi Arabia’s regional rival). Qatar denied supporting terrorism. The regional split brought trade, travel and diplomatic ties to a grinding halt. In other words, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies cut ties with Qatar.

Looking ahead: Even though the deal was a big step, it’s still unclear how far it will go, and whether the main issues that sparked the dispute have been completely resolved. The question is, will Qatar and the four-nation Arab coalition be able to trust each other?

The bottom line: Pakistan welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to open land, sea, and air borders to Qatar, calling it “a positive development.” Pakistan hopes these countries will continue cooperating with each other. FYI, Pakistan really values its relationship with all the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

4. Hazara mourners refuse to bury murdered victims

Mourners from the Shiite Hazara community are refusing to bury their dead as an act of protest. Thousands of protestors are holding a sit-in near Quetta, along with the coffins of the victims. The sit-in has continued for three days now in freezing temperatures. Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) President, Syed Agha Raza, said the sit-in will continue, and the bodies won’t be buried, until their demands are met (P.S. MWM is a Shiite political organization). Raza accused the Balochistan govt of repeatedly failing to protect the Hazara community, and called for its resignation. MWM leaders also want Prime Minister Imran Khan to talk to them in person. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said the govt is ready to accept their demands, except the one about making the Balochistan govt resign. Each victim’s family will reportedly receive PKR 2.5 million as compensation.

• Backstory: On Sunday, unidentified gunmen reportedly abducted and killed 11 Shiite Hazara coal miners in Balochistan. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) launched an investigation and registered a case against unidentified militants.